Gabe couldn’t help but snort aloud, having never imagined Sawyer placing fucking in a horse stall and classy in the same sentence. It served as a reminder of how different they were, but also, how aligned they were in all the ways that mattered. The world around them was chaotic at best, but the two of them always found a way to make their own peace in the thick of it, and that was a trend Gabe wanted to continue for the rest of his life. More than that, he wanted to seal it– set it in stone the only way he knew how. The mere thought of posing that question had his free hand involuntarily trembling at his side, and so he stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans, refusing to shine a light on his nerves. But as they walked and talked, he felt less and less afraid– talking to Sawyer had always had a way of doing that, of settling his nerves before he even realized that they needed settling.
“Touché,” he chuckled, pausing long enough to undo the chain currently keeping the ring closed off. It was a rough place to want to pick at, but Gabe felt as though it was necessary to go there. Turning around so that he was walking backwards, he took both of Sawyer’s hands in his then and guided her to the middle of the ring, nodding all the while as she spoke. “So, you’re normal,” he deduced, because he figured the vast majority of people at that age were wild and reckless, and thought they had the world by the shorthairs. It was only until life disagreed sooner or later that all of those plans tended to go ass up. No one ever pictured that. But as Sawyer continued and Gabe slowed them to a stop, he couldn’t help but smile as he leaned into every word she spoke. It was all the reassurance he’d ever needed, right there and then. “Was kinda hoping you’d say that,” he nodded, chuckling softly as he caught his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment.
“Feel the same way, honestly. When you left, you took a part of me too,” Gabe continued, briefly thinking back to his younger self and how distraught he’d been. Back then, he’d been convinced that was the end, that they’d never find their way back to each other, and yet…here they were. “I looked for you in everyone I met, and when you came back? It just…it felt like some sort of sign, you know? That this was our chance to get it right.” And they had gotten it right, as far as he could tell. “I knew you were the one when I was eighteen, Sawyer. That’s never changed.” Despite the way they’d both built lives independent of one another, they’d still fallen back together, and that was all the proof Gabe needed to know that she was his person. “Things look a little different than they did back then though. I’ve got kids– kids you’ve embraced as though they were your own, kids that love you. I’ve got demons that you don’t even bat an eye at.” He paused then, head shaking softly as a gentle chuckle eased out of him, mostly because he was just in awe of the life they’d been steadily building together, “You’re it, Sawyer– always have been, and my only hope is that I can make your life half as good as you’ve made mine.” Smiling softly, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small velvet coated box, “I just hope that you outlive me because I don’t ever want to spend another day without you.” Blowing out a breath, Gabe dropped down to one knee (casually ignoring the way one of his hips popped as he did so) and flipped the little box open, revealing a ring, “Will you marry me?”
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